Washing machine



June 21 1927. ,632,866

A. w. ALTORFER wasaxue MACHINE Filed July 2, 1925 IIIIIIIIII -vzmma y Patented June 21; 1 927. I

ALPHEUB'W. DIOR-FEB, 01 230315., ILLINOIS.

WASHING MACHINE.

Application filed July 2, 1925. Serial No. 41,147.

Thisinvention has reference to washing machines, and it has for its principal object to improve the dolly or agitating means whereby to produce a' more effective an 6 improved washing action on the articles deposited in the tub or container thereof.

The invention has for a further object to provide a dolly or agitating member opera tive from and by means of a shaft passing 10 up through the bottom of the tub or container, and so constructed with radially arranged fins or bafiie members-and an intermediate surface inclined or curved upwardly from its peripheral edge, that the resultant action of the dolly or agitator, as it is alternately oscillated is to cause the articles be ing washed to be moved toward the center of the dolly or agitating member and upwardly and thence outwardly and downwardly; or in other words, impart to such articles a slow whirl like motion radially of the dolly or agitator and thereby more effectively cleanse the articles, by constant agitation and the forcing of air and water through the articles.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a washing machine, an oscillatorydolly or agitator so constructed, that it will act upon the articles being washed in a way as to cause said articles to circulate or whirl slowly in a direction radially of the tub and from and toward the center of the tub with a limited circular movement circumferentially of the tub; the centrifu al action set up by the oscillation of the do 1y or agitator tends. or causes the articles as they rise to or above the water line, to recede from the center of the tub, thereby aiding in the radial circulation of such articles.

A further object of the invention is to form or provide the bottom wall of the tub or container with a depressed annular seat to provide, in effect, a shroud for the lower base of the dolly or agitator and to prevent the articles being washed from getting thereunder and thereby becoming torn or otherwise damaged. And, to position the baffles or fins .for active operation on the articles, nearthe water line, the base of the dolly or agitator is formed or provided with a comparatively deep annular flange or apron which or provided in said bottom wall.

extends down into the seat formed That the invention may be more fully understood, reference is had to the accompanylng drawings forming a part of the present description, illustrating a referred embodiment of the invention, in w ich:--

. Flgure 1 is an elevation, in section, showing a washing machine embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view partly broken away and 1n section, and

Figure 3 is a detail plan, in section, as the same would appear on the line 3-3, Figure 1.

Like characters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the figures.

The tub or container 1 is preferably cylindrical in shape, not unlike those in general use in machines of like character, except that it is made possible, with the use of a washing element, such as I show and describe, to provide a tub or container with a comparatively larger surface area than is ordinarily found 1n machines of this class. Said tub or container is supported by standards or legs 2, and the bottom wall 3 thereof is substantially fiat, as at 4, and formed or provided with a centrally and annularly depressed seat portion 4 to provide a shroud for the dolly or agitator, to be described.

Extending upwardly through the bottom wall 3 of the tub is an operating shaft 5, and said shaft on its lower end has a gear wheel 6 engaged by a rack or segment gear 7 connected to and adapted to be oscillated back and forth by a shaft 8. Connected to said shaft 8 is a crank 9 arranged to be operated by suitable means, not shown, from any suitable source of power. The gear wheel 6 and the rack or segment gear 7 may be encased in any suitable housing 10.

The shaft 5 extends up through and has bearing in a stem or casing 11, open at, its upper end and to the upper end of said shaft 5 is connected a coupling member 12 having a depending flange 13 encircling the up er end of the stem or casing 11 and the exten ed axial portion of said member 12 ispreferablysquare, as at 14, to provide a convenient mode of attaching the dolly or agitator, to be described, thereto, and to detach the same therefrom. The lower end of said stem or casing 11 passes through the bottom wall 3 of the tub or container, and-any suitable means is employed to seal the connection between said stem or casing and said bottom wall to prevent leakage around said stem or casing.

The dolly or agitator is designated 15 and comprises a preferably annular base portion including a comparatively deep annular 'fiange or apron 16, which, when the dolly or agitator is assembled in the tub or container extends part way down into the seat 4' formed or rovided in the bottom wall 3,

and upstan mg from said base portion, is a preferably tapered tubular sleeve 17 having *a shouldered throat 18 provided with a as at 19, mergin into the sleeve-like portion 17 forming in e set a central cone-like 512F110- ture, and 20 is a spider or hearing arm securing to and within the dolly or agitator and to the underside of its sloping surface 19 to give it a proper bearing, in its lowermost portion, on the shaft 5, as shown.

Formed or provided on the upper surface of the base of the dolly or agitator, are a plurality of radially arranged upstanding major fins or baflles 21 which, as shown, extend inwardly from the peripheral edge of the dolly or agitator and merge or fade into the sleevelike portion 17. The upper portions of said fins or baflies are shown as curvel downwardand inwardly and upwardly into said sleeve-like portion 17. Arranged intermediately of certain of said major fins or baflles 21 and disposed radially diammetrically of each other, are a pair of supplemental fins or baflles 22, see Figure 2. The fins or baflles 22 extend longitudinally of the sleeve-like portion 17, preferabl to a suitable point above the top of the s or baffles 21, see Figure 1 and project a short distance from said sleeve, as shown in Figure 2, and in operation tend to force the articles being washed outwardly, whereas the combined action of the curved surfacepf the dolly or agitator and fins or bafiies 21 is to draw the articles inwardly and upwardl of the dolly or agitator. Combined with t ese actions is the centrifugal force set up by the oscillation of the dolly or agitator, which tends or causes the articles as they rise to or above the water line, to recede from the center of the tub, thereby aiding in the radial circulation of such articles. Furthermore, it is to be understood that with this slow whirling or radial circulation of the articles, there is less chance of the articles be coming entangled and there is only a limited circular movement of the articles circumfer- 1,ese,eee

entiallfy of the tub and the articles thereby kept rom bein wound around the center stem or post 0 said dolly or a itator, as

will be found in many of the di erent machines of this class.

As will be seen, the height to which the shaft 5 extends-up into the tub or container 1 and the length or height of the dolly or agitator 16 which is carried thereby, masmuch as it is en ported from the upper end of said shaft, Wlll determine the position of the fins or bafiies in the water in the tub, or container, and the relative positions of such fins or bafiles to the normal water line in the tub; also the position of the base of the dolly or agitator to the bottom wall of the tub. The post or stem connection formed between the shaft 5 and the dolly or agitator is such, that the upper end thereof is sufficiently far above the water, when agitated, to prevent leakage through the top of said stem. I

As will be understood, the annular depressed seat portion 4', formed or provided in the bottom 3 of the tub or container serves as a shroud for the base of the dolly or agitator and will prevent articles from getting under said dolly or agitator and becomin torn or otherwise damaged. Such a condltion is furthermore prevented by the deep apron on the base 0 the dolly or agitator which positions the upper surface of the 'base thereof above the normal flat surface 4 of the tub bottom; arrows indicating the approximate movement of the articles in a radial direction toward and from the axis of the tub and over the'curved surface of the dolly or agitator and the normal water line being indicated in its relation to the fins or bafiles.

What I claim is 1.' In a washing machine, a tub havin a substantially fiat bottom wall rovided with a centrally disposed depressed annular seat a forming a shroud for a dolly, a shaft passin up through the depressed portion of said bottom wall, a dolly removably and operatively connected with the upper end of said shaft and having its washing surface above the fiat bottom portion of said bottom wall and provided with a depending and peripheral annular apron operative within said shroud, and a plurality of radially arranged baflles upstanding from the washing sur ace of said dolly.

2. In a washin machine, a tub havin a substantially fiat ottom wall rovided with a centrally disposed depressed annular seat forming a shroud for a dolly, a tubular stem passing up throu h the depressed portion of saidbottom wa within said stem, a coupling member connected to the lpper end of said shaft above said stem, a 01 comprising an annular base and a tapere stem arranged for a de- I, an operating-shaft tachable operative, connection with said cou ling member, the washing surface of sai base bein normally above the flat bottom portion 0% said bottom wall and being curved upwardl and inwardly into said stem and said ase including an annulardepending peripheral apron arranged depending and operative within said shroud, and a lurality of radially arranged baflles ALPHEUS W. ALTORFER. 

